Water-elevator.



No. 789,629. PATENTED MAY 9, 1905.

' M. V. RUFF & R. G. IRWIN.

WATER ELEVATOR.

APPLIUATION FILED 00110.1904.

Ola/n 2101mm fjNlThU Frames Patented May 9, 1905.

Parana? trier,

h [ATHEW V. RUFF, OF SMYRNA, AND ROBEPT (J. .llHVlN, ()F hlARIE'lTlAGEORG IA WATER ELEVATOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 789,629, dated. May 9,1905,

Application filed October 10, 1904. geliitl No. 227,971.

To (Z7 whom it may coacern:

Be it known that we, MATHEW V. RUFF, residing at Smyrna, and ROBERT C.lRwDI, residing at Marietta, in the county of Cobb and State of Georgia,citizens of the United States, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in \Vater-Elevators, of which the following is aspecification.

()ur invention is an improved 'ater-eleva :o tor; and it consists in theconstruction, combination, "and arrangement of devices hereinafterdescribed and claimed.

The object of our invention is to provide an improved water-elevato rwhich is adapted i5 to maintain a column of water at the bottom of awell or cistern, where it is cool, at a pressure sufficient to cause thewater to be forced to any portion of a house where it may be desired touse the water and without employ- 2o ing a tank for the storage of thewater.

in the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is partly a vertical sectionalview and partly an elevation of a 'atcrelevator embodying ourimprovements. Fig. 2 is a detail elevation,

partly in section, showing the opposite side of the standard from thatshown in Fig. 1 and also showing a portion of the plungeropcrating red,the supplemental weight, the hangers, and their operating cormections,the

0 hangers being shown in open position and the supplemental weight beingshown as dropping there from. V

In the embodiment of our invention we ')rovide a water-cylinder 1. ofsullicient capacity, which. is located at the bottom of a well orcistern and is su i ported on a base 2, having legs 3. The lower end ofthe watercylinder is closed, and it is provided. with a(lownwardly-extendinginducti on-pi pe 4, h aving a perforatedintake-funnel 5 and provided with a suitable valve, as at 6. ()n thecylinder at its upper and lower ends are bands 7, provided with radialextensible braces 8, each of which comprises an inner section 9,

an outer section 10, which are oppositely screw-threaded, and aconnecting-sleeve 11, which has a bore oppositely screw-threaded at-itsends to receive the threaded ends of said sections. By turning said.sleeves the said braces may be lengthened or shortened, and hence theymaybe so adjusted as to support the water -cylinder in a perfectlyvertical position. The said extensible braces also enable thewatercylindcr to be readily placed in the well or cistern and alsoreadily removed therefrmn.

From the lower end of the water-cylimler extends a water-discharge pipe12, which passes up through the platform at the top of the well orcylinder and may lead to any desired point. It is provided with a valve,as at 13, and is also here shown as provided with a faucet 14 At asuitable distance be low the mouth of the well or cistern the pipe 12 isprovided with a drain-valve l5, which may be opened or closedv by a rod16. The function of this valve is to prevent the water in the pipe 12from freezing during cold weather.

A weight-plunger operates in the watercylinder, and is here shown ascomprising a number of sections 18, secured together by theoperating-rod 1f), the lower end of which passes through the saidsections and is screwed thereto. The sections of the plunger arepreferably made of iron. Said plunger is provided at its upper and lowerends with annular circumferential channels 20, in which are securedpacking-rings 21., made of leather or other suitable material. Atsuitable distances apart the weight-plunger is provided with ann ul arcircu 1n feren ti al. watcr-chan n els 22, which are filled with water,contril'nite greatly to the packing of the plunger, and also minimizefriction between it and the cylinder. When the plunger is raised, itcreates a partial vacuum in the cylinder and causes the latter to becomefilled with water, the same being supplied to the cylinder through thevalved. indiuwtion-pipe 4. The plunger is of such weight as to subjectthe column of water in the cylinder to such pressure as to cause thewater to flow through the servicepipe 12 to the point where it is used,it being only necessary to open the faucet 1.4 in order to obtain asupply of water.

The upper portion of the plunger-operating rod 19 has arack 23 andreeiprocates vertically in a tubularstandard guide 24., which hassupporting-legs 125 secured on the platform at the top of the well orcistern. .Said standard hasbearings 25 26 for the axles of a spur wheel27 and a pinion 28, respectively. Said pinion engages the saidspur-wheel, and the latter is provided with a hand-crank 20, whereby itmay be rotated manually. A spurwheel 30 is fast to and turns with thepinion and is engaged by a shiftable gear 31, the bearing of which ismovable concentrically with reference to the gear 30, so that the saidgear 31 may be moved into and out of engagement with the rack 23. Alever 32is provided to thus move the shift-able gear. The said lever ispivotally connected to the standard 24-, the pivot of the lever beingalso the axle of the pinion 2S and gear 30, which axle is journaled inthe bearing 26. The standard ,is shown as having a slotted guidearm 36,through which the lever extends. Said guide-arm has a notch 37 in itsupper side, and the lever has a hook 58 to engage said notch, andthereby lock the lever in the position required to keep the gear 31 inengagenient wth the rack 23 when the weightplunger is being raised. Toraise the plungel, the gear 27 is turned in one direction, the shiltablegear having been put into engagement with the rack. hen the plunger hasbeen raised, the shiftable gear is then moved out of engagement with therack, thus causing the plunger to bear with its entire weight on thecolumn of water in the cylinder and enabling the plunger to descend inthe cylinder as water is drawn therefrom.

In order to obtain an increased pressure of water in the cylinder andthe service-pipe for use in cases of emergency, we provide asupplemental weight of annular form, which is guided on the rod 19 andnormally supported in an elevated position by hangers 34. These hangersmay be moved to release the supplemental weight by means of a rod 35,when the supplemental weight will immediately drop on the rod 19 and addits weight to that of the weight-plunger and increase the pressure ofthe water in the cylinder and the service-pipe. The rod 35 passesthrough and is held by a guide-lug 39 on one side of the standard. Thehangers, which are here shown as pivotally suspended, as at 40, from thelegs 125 of the standard, have i crank-arms all at their upper ends,which are connected to the said red by links 42. lVhen the supplementalweight is raised, together with the weight-plunger, it engages the saidcrank-arms and causes the hangers to turn automatically to the requiredposition (shown In Fig. 1) to reengage the supplemental weight andsupport the same in elevated position.

Having thus described our invention, we clain1 l. A water-elevator ofthe class described having a water-cylinder provided withcircumferential bands, and longitudinally-extensible braces secured tothe said bands and projecting radially with reference to the cylinder.

2. A water-elevator of the class described having a \v'atencylinder, aweight-plunger therein, an operating-rod for the weightplunger, means,coacting with the said rod, to raise and release the weight-plunger, asupplemental weight, guided by the said rod, and means to support thesupplemental weight in an elevated position independently of and duringthe normal operation of the weight-plunger, and to release saidsupplemental weight and cause it to drop on the weight-plunger toincrease the force of the downstroke of the latter.

3. A water-elevator of the class described, having a water-cylinder, aweight-plunger therein, means to raise and release the'weightplunger, asupplemental weight, raised by the weight-plunger,automatically-operating means to support the supplemental weight whenraised, independently of the weightplunger, and means, independent ofthe weight-plunger-releasing means, to drop the supplemental weight toadd its forceto that of the weight-plunger during the eilectivedownstroke of the latter, substantially as described.

4. A water-elevator of the class described, having a water-cylinder, aweight-plunger therein, means to raise and release the weightplunger, asupplemental weight raised by the weight-plunger,automatically-operating hangers, actuated by the supplemental weightwhen the latter is raised, to support the supplemental weight in araised position, and manually-operated means to cause said hangers torelease said supplemental weight, for the purpose set forth.

5. A water-elevator of the class described having a water-cylinder, aweight-plunger therein, means to raise and release the weightplunger, asupplemental weight, and means to support the supplemental weight in anelevated position, independently of and d uring the normal operation ofthe weight-plunger, and to release said supplemental weight and causeits weight to be added. to that of the weight-plunger to increase theforce of the downstroke of the latter.

In testimony whereof we aliix our signatures in presence of twowitnesses.

iNlATHElV V. RUF F. ROBERT C. IRW'IN. lVitnesses F. A. TVINTER, E. W.HANEY.

